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Romans Lesson Audio
Man is without excuse
Romans 1:18—25
God has left His imprint upon all of creation. When we try to comprehend the vastness of the universe, our minds stagger at its immensity and complexity. Even our galaxy, the Milky Way, is so large it is impossible to comprehend. It’s estimated that our galaxy has 250 billion stars and is 600 million, million miles in diameter (6.0×1017 miles). If the sun were the size of a period at the end of this sentence, the Milky Way would be approximately 150,000 miles in diameter. Now add to this that there are an estimated 100 billion galaxies within the universe, with more and more discovered each year using improved technology. For all practical purposes, we could say the universe is infinite. Scripture says that God has not only numbered the stars, but has named all of them.
Psalm 147:4 He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.
Examining the other end of the spectrum gives another perspective on God’s amazing creation. For a time it was thought the smallest particle was the atom. Then scientists discovered neutrons, protons and electrons. It didn’t stop there. Quarks, neutrinos, leptons, fermions and bosons were discovered, and it is thought there are many other particles yet to be discovered. All these need to work together perfectly and harmoniously in order to function properly. Different groupings of neutrons, protons and electronics form all the elements in the universe with a wide variety of characteristics. It is God who is is the “glue” holding all theses things together.
Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.
When we look at living creatures we also see God’s handiwork. Our bodies are infinitely complex and interdependent upon the different processes. For instance, DNA carries information that defines how a cell will form. The cell cannot produce this information, because the information defines how the cell will grow and behave. DNA is so complex that it is impossible for it to spontaneously spring up and begin producing cells. There are many examples of how multiple and simultaneous mutations would have to take place to produce a new species, making evolution much more difficult to accept over creation.
Evolutionists staunchly support their theory in spite of inconclusive, indirect observations. They use microevolution (change within a species) to prove macroevolution (change from one species to another). By observing the history of macroevolution, they infer how life forms have evolved (often adding in their own biases). For instance, assuming a Big Bang and an Old Earth will influence how the evidence is interpreted. Instead of thousands of years, they assume millions.
It is evident
(verses 18—20)
Man is without any excuse in knowing that there is a God from the witness of creation. God will be holding all men accountable to understand Who formed and sustains the universe. He can hold them accountable because He so absolutely and plainly is showing that there is intelligence and power behind every created thing. Understanding that there had to be a designer and sustainer behind creation is as plain as knowing that there were designers, contractors and builders behind every house. Saying the universe just happened after a “Big Bang” is like saying a house just fell into place after all the materials were delivered and dumped together. The only difference is that the house is infinitely less complex than the universe.
The only reason for creating the theory of evolution is to leave God out of the picture. If man declares that there is no God, then he fools himself into believing that he is then not accountable to anyone above himself. This is how man becomes his own God. Scientists who accept evolution do so as a matter of faith, a faith that is held up with no genuine scientific proof. In other words, man, in general, has rejected God and formed their own religion, worshipping at the feet of science.
God, the unseen, has manifested Himself in creation, the seen. Not only is it seen, Scripture says He is clearly seen. Those who reject God are ignoring what is clearly observable. This does not excuse them at all, instead, they are condemning themselves by ignoring the clear evidence of God in nature. By rejecting that declaration of creation, man rejects the Creator and the declaration of His glory (Psalm 19:1).
Mankind also rejects the God-ordained order of creation. God created male and female and paired them together to reproduce (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4—5). They were created to reproduce after their kind (Genesis 1:21, 25; 6:20; 7:14; 8:19). This order of creation is mocked at when man destroys marriage and thumbs their nose at the created roles of the sexes.
The debate between creationism and evolution is actually a spiritual battle. This is made clear in Romans 1. Those who reject that there is a God refuse to read the evidence that God has put in front of them. They skew their thinking by focusing exclusively on the physical, and pass over the spiritual. The reprobate mind lacks the wisdom to understand the facts correctly. They choose to ignore that there are invisible qualities of the universe undetectable by human means.
Historical background
(verses 21—25)
Paul fills us in with a bit of history, going back to the Tower of Babel. God dealt strictly with the Gentile nations before this time, because Israel had not become a nation at that time. These Gentile nations knew God because God had revealed Himself to the whole world. They wanted nothing to do with God, but wanted to go their own way. Instead of worshipping God, they began worshipping creation, from idols, to birds, to beasts and even to worms, snakes and bugs. Notice the downward spiral as man becomes more reprehensible. This is the natural heart of every human being.
The Tower of Babel was a decisive moment in history because it marks a point when God changed His dealings with mankind. He turned His back on the Gentiles, allowing them to go the way they wanted to go (Acts 14:16; 17:30). As verse Romans 1:24 states, God gave them up. What a sad indictment against mankind. He then raised up the father of a new nation, Abraham. This nation, Israel, will be His servant (Isaiah 41:8; 44:1, 21) and a light unto the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6; 49:6; 60:3).
These things happened in Times Past. We, as Gentiles, are no longer on the outside looking in, unable to come to God. We are not on the same footing as the Jew, since God no longer makes a distinction between Jew and Gentiles (Romans 3:29; 10:12; Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11).
